


Allergy Symptoms

by crysptin



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Sex, pre-sex scenes, that's literally it - Freeform, there's a cat too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 05:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5614882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crysptin/pseuds/crysptin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas finds a stray cat and Sam helps him hide it in the bunker, because Dean would flip if he knew Cas brought a cat in.</p>
<p>Dean is none the wiser to anything Cas and Sam are doing, but he keeps sneezing whenever he and Cas get really close to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Allergy Symptoms

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic, and it was never supposed to be this long. things just kind of spiraled out of control.
> 
> i want to thank my friend elie for being so supportive and encouraging while i was writing this because it kinda drove me crazy.
> 
> please tell me what you think! :)

                It started out innocently enough.

                Well, okay, maybe _innocent_ wasn’t the right word. Cas knew Dean didn't like cats, and Cas knew he was allergic (which, admittedly, Cas should've thought to fix when he was still an angel). But when Cas found the cat outside, skinny but still sweet, with coarse fur sticking up in tufts over his body and runny, goopy eyes, he couldn't just _leave_ him there. The weather was getting colder, and the nights longer. Cas didn't want to take the chance that the cat might suffer through a shivery night.

                Besides, it wasn't as if he actually went _looking_ for a stray. The cat had sought him out first. He had just been dropped off back at the bunker by Dean, who had forgotten something back in town. Dean and Cas had already picked up ice cream at the store and were halfway home by the time Dean remembered that what they had _really_ needed was roast beef and cereal and bandages. So really, this was all Dean's fault anyway.

                But Dean insisted that he drop Cas off back at the bunker so the ice cream wouldn't melt. Cas had wanted Dean to wait for him to put the ice cream away so he could go with him back to the store (for some reason, Cas really enjoyed grocery shopping), but Dean shook his head and said it was fine, that it would be quicker if he did it on his own. Cas was a little saddened, but he didn't argue, and he watched as Dean drove back down the road without him.

                Cas had almost made it to the bunker door when he heard the meow, and he stopped dead in tracks. "Hello?" he called, looking around for the perpetrator. It was quiet for a few moments, but then there was another meow, slightly smaller this time, but Cas immediately put down the grocery bags and began searching.

                The brown tabby tomcat looked almost pathetic when Cas finally found him, but the brightness in the cat's eyes and his cheery demeanor betrayed his ragged fur and his thin body. Cas crouched down, and the cat rubbed his face on Cas's hand when he held it out, and he purred when Cas stroked over his back. "Hi," Cas said with a soft, happy smile. The cat rubbed himself against Cas's knees. He was sweet but a little sickly, and Cas hated the idea of leaving him out there alone to fend for himself.

                So Cas took him inside to Sam and told him what happened, and Sam cooed over the straggly little stray. He left Cas and the cat sitting on his bed while he went to the kitchen and got some turkey. The cat was still purring when he got back, rubbing his face against Cas's hands and kneading his paws on Cas's thigh. When Sam crouched in front of Cas, the cat turned and bumped his head against Sam's cheek. Sam laughed and scratched his neck. "You're a sweet little fella, huh?" he asked the kitty, snuffling a chuckle as the cat rubbed his cheek on the tip of his nose.

                Cas scratched the cat's butt, laughing fondly as he raised to the very tips of its toes on his back legs. "He's very affectionate. I don't know why he doesn't have a home."

                Sam sighed sadly, holding up some of the turkey on his fingertips. The cat gulped it down eagerly. "There's a huge stray problem in this country, especially with cats. This guy had a home, though, once, didn't you, buddy? You like people." Sam fed him more turkey.

                "I think we should name him Gerard," Cas said, massaging the cat between his shoulders.

                Pausing while the cat licked at his fingers, Sam looked up at Cas, his eyebrows drawn. " _Gerard?_ That's a weird name for a cat." The cat pawed at Sam's hand, a polite request for more turkey. Sam complied, holding up his other hand. The cat purred loudly, grateful for the food. He was obviously hungry, gulping down the meat quickly, and judging by his physical condition, he had probably been hungry for a while.

                Shrugging, Cas smiled down at the cat, watching as it gobbled up the turkey. "It suits him," he said simply. He rubbed two fingertips on the cat's forehead, smiling as he lifted his head into the touch even as he chewed the turkey.

                Sam laughed awkwardly, running his hand down the cat's back. He could feel every knob in his spine, every rib on his sides. He was going to need more than just turkey. "Uh. Okay. But, two things: One, we can’t keep him. Dean’s allergic to cats, and he would kill us. We’ll take care of him until he gets healthier, but then we have to find him a home.” Sam paused, looking up at Cas.

                Cas sighed, but he nodded in understanding. “Yes, of course,” he said, but his tone revealed how disappointed he was.

                Sam sighed too. “Yeah, I don’t really like it either, but you know how Dean is.” Cas breathed a laugh, and Sam smiled at him. “And the second thing: If we _were_ going to give him a name, _I_ think we should call him Nutmeg."

                Cas paused, and he turned his eyes to Sam, squinting suspiciously. "That's a little...simple,” he said carefully. He didn’t want to hurt Sam’s feelings, but he also thought the name _Nutmeg_ was, to put it simply, laughable.

                Sam shrugged, one corner of his lips quirked down in a small half-frown. He thought Nutmeg suited the brown tabby better than _Gerard_. "What's wrong with simple?" he asked, standing up to wash the leftover turkey juice off his hands.

                Cas squared his shoulders, frowning even as the cat stretched his paws up on his chest and rubbed his cheek on his chin. "I just think he deserves a little more than that. He's more _dignified_ than the name 'Nutmeg'. He’s been surviving on his own for who knows how long. He has _dignity_ , Sam.” Cas looked at the cat, who was now directly in front of his face. The cat acknowledged him by rubbing his face on Cas’s nose.

                Sam dried his hands and sat down beside Cas on the edge of the bed. "Well, even so, I don't think _Gerard_ fits him any better." When Cas turned his head to look at Sam, that suspicious squint back on his face, Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying. Gerard isn't a cat name. It just makes me think of that...emo band."

                Now Cas was thoroughly confused. He hated when he didn’t understand the _human things_. "What's an 'emo band'?"

                "Uh, My Chemical Romance? The lead singer is named Gerard. I think they broke up a while ago, though."

                "But what's 'emo'?"

                Chuckling, Sam reached out and rubbed his knuckles underneath the cat's chin. He usually knew better than to make those kinds of references around Cas, but he still slipped up sometimes. "Just a type of music. Or a style of clothing. I don’t know. Never mind. My point is, we're not calling the cat Gerard."

                Cas huffed, indignant. He wasn’t just going to roll over, even for Sam. "Well, we're not calling him _Nutmeg_ either."

                The cat crawled over Cas's arm and settled itself in Sam's lap. Sam smirked at Cas, running a triumphant hand over the cat's back. "I don't know. He seems to be siding with me on this."

                Cas turned and glared dangerously at Sam, and if looks could kill, Sam would be a dead man...again. "We're not calling him Nutmeg," he spat, reaching up and flicking Sam's ear.

                Sam barked out a surprised laugh, one hand flying up to cover his ear. Cas silently thanked Dean in his head for showing him the tactic. Sam raised his hands in surrender, looking at Cas with an amused expression. "Okay, okay, we won't name him Nutmeg. But I'm standing by the Gerard thing."

                Sighing, Cas's face relaxed only slightly. "So we've reached an impasse," he said flatly, expression cold. He had really been fond of the name Gerard, but he supposed that, if Sam was going to be helping him to care for the cat, he had to let it go. He reached out and petted the cat, who reached his head up to meet Cas's hand.

                "We have to name him something else."

                "Hmm," Cas hummed, thinking. Things were quiet, save for the cat's purring, while Sam and Cas tried to think of a new name option.

                Cas was the first one to speak again. "Lilyhammer."

                Sam paused, letting it sink in, and then he laughed. "Lilyhammer?"

                Frowning, Cas turned to Sam. "Yes," was all he said.

                Cas looked so serious, and Sam tried to bite back his smile. It wasn't that it was a (completely) _bad_ name, it just...wasn't what he had been expecting. “You’re only saying that because you’re watching the show.”  
                Cas bristled, glaring at Sam again. “So?” he sharply. He liked the name. He thought it fit the cat just as well as Gerard did, if not better.

                Sam laughed quietly and looked down at his lap, considering the cat who was by now more than half asleep, content with the love and affection he was receiving from Sam and Cas. As much as he hated to admit it, the name did seem to fit. It wasn’t exactly a _cute_ name, or a good cat name, but Sam could see why Cas wanted to pin it on this specific cat.

                "Okay," Sam agreed, and Cas's face broke into a wide, bright, gummy smile.

                "Really?"

                "Yeah. But," Sam warned, pointing a finger at Cas, "like I said, we're only keeping him until he's healthy. Then we're going to find him a new home." Cas nodded, still smiling, and it was so bright and happy that Sam had to fight to keep his demeanor serious. He may have been excited too, but it was a dangerous game they were playing. "And we _cannot_ tell Dean. You know he's allergic to cats, and he hates them. So the cat—“

                “ _Lilyhammer_ ,” Cas interjected.

                Sam chuckled. “Right, Lilyhammer. Sorry. _Lilyhammer_ can't go out in the rest of the bunker. He has to stay here in my room.”

                Cas nodded again, petting the cat. "Yes, of course." As much as he loved Lilyhammer already and would’ve loved to have him out and available at all times, he didn’t want to upset Dean or bother his allergies. Lilyhammer may have needed some love and attention, but Dean did too, and if Dean found out about the cat, he’d get grumpy and then he wouldn’t let Cas give him the affection he deserved.

                Sam finally let himself grin, and he looked back down at the cat. "Okay. We need to get some cat food, and a litter box." He lifted Lilyhammer and pressed a kiss to his head before setting him down on the bed. "I'll go pick that stuff up, and we should get him some water. Poor guy's obviously been out on the street a long time."

                Cas scratched Lilyhammer’s neck. “I’ll be right back,” he promised before following Sam out of the room.

                The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the bunker. Sam and Cas shared a nervous glance. If Dean was home, that would make it a little more difficult to hide things from him until they got everything figured out.

                "Cas?" Dean called from the front of the bunker. His voice sounded a little worried. Sam nudged Cas’s shoulder with his own and gave him a pointed look, a silent reminder for him to act as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

                Sam trailed Cas to the library. "Yes, Dean?" Cas said, trying his best to not seem as if there was anything going on. Cas was a pretty good liar most of the time, but when he was trying to lie to Dean, he always fumbled somehow. Something about Dean just made it hard for Cas to lie to him. It always felt like some level of betrayal.

                And although Cas had made a vow to himself to not lie to Dean about things, he also knew that sometimes things were important enough that it was okay to keep them from someone he loved if it was going to benefit a greater good.

                Like if he found a sickly stray cat that needed to be cared for, and the person that he loved happened to hate cats.

                Dean held up two grocery bags, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed in concern as his eyes scanned Cas up and down. "Is everything okay?" he asked, slightly suspicious.

                Cas glanced quickly at Sam, and then he smiled at Dean. "Yes, everything's fine. Why do you ask?" He folded his hands in front of himself to try to defeat the urge to nervously tap his fingers against his leg. That was another new thing Cas had acquired with his humanity. He didn’t like it.

                Thrusting out the grocery bags in his hand, Dean raised his eyebrows at Cas. "You left the grocery bags outside."

                His eyes widening, Cas stared at the bag, vaguely remembering walking straight past them on his way to bring Lilyhammer inside. "Oh! Yes, I... I got distracted. I'm sorry. I guess I forgot about them."

                Dean huffed quietly, giving Cas a small, slightly forced half-smile. "Babe, the whole reason I dropped you off here was so you could put the ice cream in the freezer so that it wouldn't melt."

                A wave of shame washed over Cas as his mistake dawned on him. He deflated almost entirely, his shoulders sagging and causing his body to cave in on itself as his face fell. He’d left the ice cream outside for over thirty minutes. "Oh. I'm sorry, Dean. I got distracted."

                Dean’s smile softened into one of forgiveness and reassurance as he breathed a small laugh. He hated seeing Cas upset with himself like that. Dean knew Cas really beat up on himself sometimes, and he didn’t deserve to be hating himself over ice cream. "Yeah, you said. It's okay, babe. It'll freeze again." Dean stepped forward and put a hand on Cas's shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He held up the grocery bags again. "Help me put this stuff away, will ya?"

                "Of course," Cas sighed with relief, blushing slightly. It wasn't often that Dean initiated affection in front of other people, and it still made Cas a little flustered whenever he did because he knew their relationship was still new territory for Dean, and it was nice to know that Dean loved him enough to step a little out of his comfort zone. Cas turned and gave a Sam a bashful smile, and he ducked his head as he followed Dean to the kitchen.

                Sam smirked, watching them walk away. "I'm going out for a bit!" he called after them, and Dean called back a simple “okay!” in affirmation.

                Sam slipped out, completely unmissed, while Cas helped Dean put away the groceries. When Dean was in the bathroom, Cas snuck a bowl of water into Sam’s room for Lilyhammer, and he gave the cat a quick cuddle before sneaking back out.

                That was how everything started, with nothing but good intentions.

 

****

 

                Dean didn't begin to suspect anything was going on until the third time he noticed that Cas had slipped away for more than twenty minutes. When he went searching for Cas, he caught him creeping smoothly out of Sam's room. Cas blushed red when he saw Dean watching him, and Dean smirked. Unable to resist, Dean grabbed Cas's hips and pulled him flush against himself.

                "What were you doing in Sam's room?" Dean asked, pushing Cas up against the wall and leaning into him.

                Cas gasped, his hands finding Dean's shoulders and gripping them tightly. "N-nothing," he stuttered, his fingers rippling over Dean's muscles.

                Dean raised his eyebrows, sticking his bottom lip out slightly to give Cas the pout Dean knew made him melt. "Are you cheating on me with him?" he questioned, voice soft and slightly sad for dramatic effect.

                Cas's eyebrows immediately drew together, and all the sudden tension in his body was quickly replaced with morose disappointment. He moved his hands from Dean's shoulders to his face, cradling each of his cheeks in warm, gentle hands. "Dean," he said, quiet and sincere as he rubbed a thumb over Dean's freckles. "I love _you_. I would never do that to—“ Cas was cut off in the middle of his sentence with a sudden kiss pressed hard to his lips. Dean’s laugh was muffled by Cas’s mouth.

                "Oh," Cas chuckled against Dean's lips, lovingly stroking his fingers over Dean’s cheek and happily easing into the kiss. Dean pulled away and mouthed at Cas's jaw, then down his neck. "I didn't know you were kidding,” Cas added, already slightly breathless.

                Dean laughed again. "I know you would never cheat on me, Cas." He licked over Cas's skin. Cas moaned softly.

                "Oh, Dean," he sighed, playful boredom lacing his tone. "You are insatiable."

                Dean snickered. "It's what you do to..." He trailed off into what almost sounded like a moan, but it was quickly recognized as something else when he shoved his face into Cas's shoulder and sneezed violently into his shirt.

                Startled, Cas put his hand on the back of Dean's head and held him as he snuffled. Dean huffed against Cas's shoulder, trying to breathe the tickle out of his nose, but it wasn't even a minute before he sneezed again.

                "Are you alright?" Cas asked, pulling Dean's face out of his shoulder and stroking his hair. His cheeks were still burning, no longer with embarrassment or arousal, but shame, because he knew why Dean was sneezing, and he knew it was his fault. Dean sniffled. His eyes were slightly puffy now, and he rubbed at them with the side of his hand. Cas frowned, pulling his sleeve over his hand and wiping Dean's nose. Dean paused and took a breath, and then sneezed again.

                "Ugh," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "It feels like I'm having an allergy attack." Pulling the inside of his shirt over his face, Dean rubbed at his nose. He snorted a laugh, then sneezed again. "Nice mood killer, huh?" he said with a scratchy voice.

                Cas laughed nervously, and he began to reach up to touch Dean's face, but quickly thought better of it with Dean’s current status and the cat dander that was almost definitely left on his hand, and he wrapped his fingers around Dean's hip instead. "I don't know,” he practically growled, staring hungrily at Dean's lips. _Cas_ was certainly still a little riled up, even though he knew _he_ was the cause behind Dean’s allergy attack. "We could still move this to the bedroom. Perhaps things might…" He swallowed and cleared his throat, "calm down. And you'll stop sneezing."

                Dean stared at Cas’s face, not really seeing him as he tried to hold back another sneeze. He sucked in a big breath through his nose to try to calm the itch, but then he broke, nearly punching Cas in the jaw with how fast he pulled his elbow to cover his face. "Shit," he muttered, falling against Cas and pressing their hips together. "Yeah. I hope so, 'cause I wanna go down. On. You." Dean punctuated each word a grind of his hips and bit his lower lip enticingly.

                Cas growled possessively, wrapping his arms around Dean's waist and lifting his feet off the floor. Dean yelped, laughing excitedly.

                Cas was right; Dean stopped sneezing once they took their clothes off.

 

****

 

                One afternoon, Cas and Dean were in Dean's room watching videos on YouTube. Dean was letting Cas have a turn in picking what they watched, so, of course, Cas chose cute animal videos. Dean agreed with a gruff scowl, pretending he was irritated with Cas's choice, but Cas knew he was only putting on a show and that he really didn't mind watching animal videos.

                Cas sort of melted into Dean as they watched, resting with his back half on Dean's chest. Dean went along with it happily, wrapping his arm around Cas and holding him against himself and absent-mindedly running his fingertips over Cas's arm.

                Dean was sniffling a bit, but it didn't seem to be too bad, so Cas didn't bother to take off his sweatshirt even though he had been holding Lilyhammer up near his neck not too long before. As long as Dean wasn’t actively having an allergy fit, Cas assumed that it wasn’t really a problem. Besides, even though sitting against Dean was warm, Cas had figured out, with his newfound mortality that he preferred to be _cozily_ warm instead of just _comfortably_ warm. And with Dean's warmth soaking through his clothes and into his skin, Cas was _definitely_ cozy.

                It was almost twenty minutes later that Dean sneezed for the first time.

                It wasn't a big deal, and even though Cas felt a little uneasy in his chest for a few seconds, neither he nor Dean said anything about it; Dean just wiped his nose on his sleeve and grunted, moving his arm from Cas's shoulder to his waist, and Cas snuggled in deeper.

                Then Dean sneezed again.

                Cas glanced up at Dean this time, an ashamed light pink blush dusting his cheeks. Dean groaned and grabbed a couple of tissues from the box he had taken to keeping on the nightstand. He blew his nose hard, blowing straight through one tissue and getting snot soaked through the second. Scowling, Dean grumbled to himself as he balled the tissues up, and he threw them towards the wastebasket. The tissue ball bounced off the rim and landed on the floor, and Cas began to move away from Dean to let him get up and get the wad of tissues off the floor, because he knew Dean hated to leave things messy in their home, but Dean surprisingly tightened his arm on Cas's waist and held him back.  

                "It's okay, just leave it," Dean said, pressing an absent-minded kiss to the back of Cas's neck. Cas smiled to himself and settled back, his cheeks burning warmer with Dean preference to continue cuddling rather than fix something that Cas knew typically irritated him. Repositioning the laptop on his thigh, Cas reached over and grabbed Dean's free hand.

                "My allergies have never been this bad before," Dean commented, brushing his thumb over Cas's knuckles. He dipped his head to nuzzle Cas's shoulder, but before he even got there, he sneezed all over Cas's neck.

                "Damn!" Dean shoved Cas off him and away, his face flaming red in embarrassment. He grabbed a handful of tissues and started hastily wiping off Cas’s neck. "I'm sorry, Cas, I didn't mean to. I thought it was one of those ghost sneezes that wasn't really gonna come on."

                Chuckling goodheartedly, Cas reached up and put his hand over Dean’s stilling his desperate pace. "It's alright, Dean,” he said honestly, because it was. Besides, it was _his_ fault Dean was sneezing in the first place, even if Dean didn’t know that. Cas went on, “We both know that I've had much of your, ah, _grosser_ bodily fluids in much more _intimate_ places." He smirked at Dean, who stared wide-eyed and silent. Then, Dean suddenly shoved Cas so hard he nearly fell off the bed.

                "Don't say it like that!" Dean shouted, grabbing Cas's arm and yanking him back upright. Cas’s smirk only grew. "That makes it sound so…ugh! That's disgusting!"

                Dean was laughing now, and he pulled Cas into his lap. Cas laughed along with him, straddling Dean's thighs and fisting his shirt. Cas leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Dean's lips. "How would you prefer I say it?" he asked against Dean's mouth, sliding one hand up to hook a knuckle under Dean's chin.

                Blushing, his pupils already wide with arousal, Dean shrugged, biting his lip. "Why do you have to say dance around the facts?” His voice was slightly timid, but Cas made no move to show he recognized Dean’s vulnerability, which just made Dean feel more confident. “Just say it how it is. We've…had sex." It still made shivers crawl up Dean's spine to say it. It didn't matter that he and Cas had been together for a while now--after all those years of tension, of pushing down and ignoring and drinking away his feelings for Cas, it still excited Dean to be able talk about this freely. To be able to think about this without shame, to be able to _feel_ what he felt for Cas without feeling like he got punched in the gut and didn't have any air left in his lungs was a whole new experience for Dean, and each time he said something out loud, he still got a little dizzy.

                As always, Cas seemed to know exactly what was going through Dean's mind. He nuzzled Dean's cheek, grinding his hips against Dean’s. "Alright, then," he whispered, tracing Dean's collarbone with a fingertip. "We've had sex." His lips brushed against Dean's skin. "A lot of it."

                Unable to stop the whimper that crawled up his throat or the shudder that tore through his body, Dean dropped his head and buried his face in Cas's shoulder.

                He sneezed.

                Before Dean could get upset about it, Cas decided to forego all foreplay and began ripping both their clothes off.

 

****

 

                Cas laid beside Sam on the bed, smiling wide as Lilyhammer drunkenly stepped back and forth from his chest to Sam's and back again. He had put on a lot of weight, and his coat was full and shiny, and he drooled when he was really happy, which was often and a lot. Despite the many wet spots on their clothes, Sam and Cas both adored him.

                "We should probably make some posters to put up around town to try and find him a home," Sam said. He put his finger on Lilyhammer's paw and laughed when the cat yanked his foot away and dove his happy face down to rub against his finger.

                "That sounds like a good idea," Cas agreed, monotone. He actually didn’t like the thought of giving Lilyhammer away, even though it was probably for the best. Although Sam and Dean and Cas didn’t go on hunts as often as they used to, they still left town a little too often and always for a little too long to leave a pet unattended. Although Cas had a fantasy of a pet traveling _to_ the hunts with them, he knew Dean would never go for it. Even if Cas could convince Dean one day to allow a pet into their home (which he was sure he could, Dean was secretly a big softy and Cas could always get him to cave eventually), he would _never_ allow a pet into his _car_. He loved that car almost more than he loved Cas _or_ Sam. (Almost.)

                 Cas sighed and ignored the thoughts, instead opting to scratch Lilyhammer's soft belly as he rolled over and offered it.

                Sam's hand joined Cas's, and together their hands took up the entirety of Lilyhammer's belly and then some. Lilyhammer's paws reached out rhythmically, kneading the air in a dopey kind of happiness. "We should probably take him to the vet first, though," Sam added after a long silence.

                Cas nodded. "We need to make sure he's healthy."

                "We should get him neutered, too."

                "Right. Pet overpopulation is a problem."

                They continued to pet the happy cat, not speaking on the subject any longer.

 

****

 

                Dean watched Cas from across the library, a book open on the table in front of him. He wasn't reading it, though; as usual, Cas was much more interesting. All he was doing was casually browsing the shelves for a specific book, and he had his back turned to Dean, yet Dean still had a hard time tearing his eyes away. It was kind of liberating, though, to finally be able to watch Cas freely without worrying about getting caught. No more whiplash from snapping his head away when he wasn’t supposed to be staring, no more flushed cheeks or shaky hands when Sam or Cas actually _did_ catch him. Now that he and Cas were together, Dean could stare all he wanted. And Cas still did it to him sometimes, too, so Dean knew Cas didn’t have a problem with it.

                "You've been hanging out with Sam a lot lately," Dean said suddenly, breaking the calm silence of the room. Cas visibly stiffened, and he paused a moment before suspiciously looking at Dean over his shoulder.

                "Yes, well. Sam and I are friends." Cas grabbed the book he had been looking for, and Dean watched him as he came back and sat down across the table.

                Smirking, Dean leaned forward, folding his arms on his book. Cas squirmed slightly, avoiding eye contact. "No, I know you guys are friends. It's just that you guys have been hanging out more than usual."

                Cas shrugged somewhat nervously, opening his book to a random page and pretending to be engrossed in the information. When he didn't respond to Dean's comment, Dean took it a step further. "But Sam hasn't been egging me to help find a hunt lately, either. Which," Dean laughed, tilting his head forward, and Cas looked up from the book and then immediately looked back down after seeing Dean’s suggestive expression, "I'm not complaining about, believe me. I don't really want to have to share a room with him either, what with all the _fun_ you and me get up to." He paused, watching as a blush began to creep up Cas's cheeks. "But it's just not like him to not get pissy about stuff like this. Is something going on with him?"

                Cas swallowed. He dragged his finger down the page of the book, pretending to finish reading just to give himself time to think up an adequate excuse. Thinking under pressure was Sam and Dean's specialty; Cas himself was still learning. "He's just been…thinking about some things." _Wow, that was lame._

                Dean sat up straight, his eyebrows drawn together, looking slightly alarmed. Before he was just curious, but now he was suspicious.

                "What kinds of things?" Dean asked, closing the book in front of him, even though he hadn’t been reading it anyway. Sam _thinking_ about things almost always led to trouble for Dean in some way or another.

                Or, Sam thinking about things almost always led to Dean doing something stupid and getting _himself_ in trouble. But he hated having to admit to that, even though he felt so damn bad about it.

                Cas raised his head, leaving his own book alone for now. He had said the thing that upset Dean, and even if it was a lie, Dean was the love of his life and it was Cas’s job to talk him back down. "It's nothing. Nothing bad, anyway. He's just fine, I promise you. It's not a big deal."

                Shrugging one shoulder, Dean sat back, crossing his arms as a frown tugged at his lips. Cas frowned. Dean was getting defensive now, and that was never a good thing. "If it's not a big deal, then why can't I know about it?" He sounded hurt.

                Closing his own book, it was Cas's turn to lean over the table. He stared Dean in the eye, doing his best to convey honesty and sincerity and comfort. "I think he just wants to deal with this on his own," he said in his attempt to reassure Dean.

                The attempt fell flat. "He talked to you about it. That's not alone."

                Turning one corner of his mouth up in a small smile, Cas reached one arm across the table, resting his hand with the palm face-up in warm invitation. "He and I have a different sort of relationship than the two of you do, Dean."

                Dean stared at Cas's hand, his eyes narrowed in aggravation. He wouldn’t look up at Cas. "Is he thinking about leaving the life again?" he asked.

                Cas breathed a sad laugh. "Of course not, Dean. This is our home. His home, too."

                Dean scoffed and looked away. "He doesn't see it that way," he mumbled bitterly under his breath.

                Cas frowned. He understood Dean's hesitance to believe him about this—Dean and Sam had had their fair share of betrayals to one another of over the years—but their recurring distrust of each other was...well, it was tiring. "Dean," Cas said sternly, and at his tone Dean finally looked up at his face. "I wouldn't lie to you about this."

                Dean studied Cas for a second, but then he sighed and relented, accepting Cas's promise. He shrugged again, more relaxed this time. "So, what then?" he asked. "Did he meet someone or something?"

                Cas felt his face fall blank, but he still kept his hand out on the table, too startled with the question to find it in himself to move. He attempted to find an excuse, but as he fished around inside his brain, all he managed to say was just stuttered nonsense. It was _Dean_ he was talking to, _Dean_ he was lying to. And anyway, Dean already obviously knew that it _was_ a lie (or going to be, if Cas ever got his words sorted), so if Cas even could think up a good excuse, Dean would still know what the truth was. Sam _had_ mentioned somebody he was pretty fond of, and that he had been seeing him for a few weeks.

                Dean could see the amount of knowledge Cas held clear as day on his face, and Dean’s lips broke out into the widest grin. "Oh my god," he said, already beginning to laugh. "He did. He's interested in someone."

                "No!" Cas finally spat out, clenching his open palm shut on the table. "He…just..."

                Dean cracked up, howling his amusement. His face shone with happiness and pride, his the corners of his eyes crinkling deeply in that way that Cas absolutely loved. "I can't believe it!” Dean said, grinning wide. “Sammy's finally getting some tail, huh? Is it another hunter? He's talked about something like that before."

                Frowning deeply, Cas finally retracted his hand and sat up straight in his seat. "He's not in a _relationship_ , Dean. He calls it a ‘fling’.”

                Cocking an eyebrow, Dean nodded, clearly pleased. "Good for him. He deserves some time away from all this." Dean leaned forward again, and Cas glared at him and leaned back. As sexy as it was, Cas hated when Dean got that look. It only ever meant bad things for Cas. "So who is it, then? You gotta give me a name."

                Cas tried to add a bit of threat into his stare, but Dean just kept grinning, so he didn’t think he succeeded. "I'm not telling you anything.” Cas tried (key word: _tried_ ) to keep his voice cold and callous in an attempt to push Dean off the subject. “I've already revealed too much."

                Dean rolled his eyes, flopping down to rest his entire chest on the table. He looked like a little kid, and Cas had to roll his eyes to keep himself from smiling at Dean’s little show. "Come on, Cas! I didn't ask for any details, just a name!" he cried, stomping his foot on the floor.

                Cas beat down the laugh in his throat. Dean was cute, but Cas wasn't going to crack. "No."

                “Baaaaaabe!" Dean wailed, flopping back in his chair and sliding halfway down so Cas could only see from his chest up. Dean’s eyes were wide and sad and pathetic, and his lips were pursed in a big, overdramatic pout. "Pleeeeaaaase?"

                Cas squinted threateningly. Dean grinned again, knowing he finally got Cas to give in. "Only a name. But you can't tell him I told you." Cas’s voice was even deeper than usual, gravelly in a way that it only got when he was giving a warning to a monster on a hunt. Dean had to hold back a shudder.

                Nodding, Dean wiggled excitedly in his seat.

                "I mean it, Dean. You _can't_ tell him."

                "I promise!" Dean shouted, practically jumping out of his seat. "Just tell me! I'm dying here!"

                Sighing, Cas straightened himself. He brushed his hands down his shirt, stalling. If Dean was going to be annoying, Cas could be too. "The name…" Across the table, Dean groaned, dropping his chest on the table dramatically again. "Is…" Dean yelled, attempting to goad Cas on, but Cas only smirked at Dean. Dean scowled, but there was a bright playfulness in his eyes. Cas decided to put him out of his misery. "...Jeremy."

                Dean paused. Then his lips stretched into the biggest, most shit-eating grin Cas had ever seen. "Nice," Dean said simply, and Cas knew he’d fucked up.

                " _Dean_ ," Cas scolded, glaring at Dean with severe disapproval.

                Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, Dean gave a sheepish laugh. "I didn't do anything!" Cas only continued to glare. "And I won't! I swear," Dean promised, putting a hand over his heart.

                Cas hummed noncomitally, and his gaze didn't soften a bit. Dean was a professional liar, and although Cas trusted Dean to not lie to him about more _important_ things—i.e., matters of life and death—he didn’t trust Dean a bit on this. Dean scoffed at Cas's coldness, and he put his arm out on the table, palm face-up exactly like Cas had done earlier. When Cas merely looked at Dean’s hand and looked back at his face, Dean raised his eyebrows and wiggled his fingers invitingly. "Come on, sweetheart," he drawled smoothly.

                A small smile curling onto his lips, Cas hesitantly reached out and put his hand in Dean's. He had always had trouble fighting Dean’s affections, even when Dean was using said affections to manipulate Cas into forgiving him for things like convincing him to tell Dean Sam’s secrets. Dean hollered victoriously, squeezing Cas's hand. "I knew you couldn't resist me," he said to Cas, batting his eyelashes like a 1920’s film star.

                Cas snorted and rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away from Dean's. It was easier to fight Dean’s affections when Dean got cocky. "You are so full of yourself."

                When Cas began to push himself out of his chair, Dean jumped up and ran around the table and pushed him back down. Cas fell back with a soft _oomph_ , and before he could even recover, Dean was perched in his lap with an arm around his neck. Cas stared at Dean at first, confused yet amused, but he giggled and wrapped his arms around Dean's waist when Dean pursed his lips and looked at him through hooded eyes.

                Dean traced a finger down the side of Cas's neck. "Why would I be full of myself when I could be full of you?"

                Cas didn't respond for a few moments, but then he practically choked on his own laugh. "Dean," he gasped out, "that was horrible."

                Shrugging, Dean bashfully ducked his chin to his chest. "Yeah, well, 's true," he mumbled, and Cas couldn't believe the shy blush beginning to stain Dean's cheeks, especially after the vulgar thing he just said.

                "Oh, Dean" Cas laughed, cupping Dean's cheek and pulling him down for a kiss. "You know I love your terrible jokes."

                Dean sneezed.

 

****

 

                After Sam brought Lilyhammer back from the vet, Cas followed them into Sam's bedroom. "What did the vet say?" he asked as Sam set the cat carrier down on the bed.

                As soon as Sam opened the door of the carrier, Lilyhammer bolted out. He scrambled off the bed and skittered across the floor to hide underneath the dresser. "The vet said he's fine. Healthy for a cat who had to have been living on the street for a while. Lilyhammer hated him, though."

                Cas dropped to his hands and knees and crawled over to the dresser, where he flattened himself against the floor. "I think that much is obvious," he said flatly.

                Sam laughed, sitting down on the floor beside Cas. "Yeah, he's pretty mad at me. He was yelling the entire car ride, but even as much as he hated being locked in the carrier, he didn't even wanna come out at the vet's office. But I made an appointment to get him neutered. It’s in two weeks."

                "Poor guy." Cas slid his hand underneath the dresser, looking to comfort the cat. "I'm sorry, Lilyhammer. But it's over now. We're not going to— Ow!" Cas yanked his hand back, scrambling to his knees. He cradled his hand against his chest and looked at Sam, completely aghast. "He scratched me!"

                Covering his mouth with his hand, Sam tried to hide his snicker. "Yeah, Cas. Cats do that."

                A look of betrayal painted across his face, Cas stared at the bottom of the dresser. "Lilyhammer, I was just trying to make you feel _better_!" Cas cried, flopping back down to the floor. Lilyhammer glared at him from the space underneath the dresser, his green eyes reflecting brightly in the darkness.

                "Uh, Cas?" Sam tapped on Cas's shoulder. The scratch on Cas's hand was an angry red, and little bubbles of blood seeped up to sit on his skin. "You should really disinfect that scratch and put a bandage on it. Cat scratch fever is a thing."

                Cas huffed against the floor, annoyed. "Thanks, Sam. I'll do it later." He continued to stare grumpily at Lilyhammer. Lilyhammer was his responsibility, and he wasn’t going to just leave him to cower alone. He had to at least _try_ to help him.

                Sam waited a minute, but Cas didn't move. "So you're just going to lie there until he comes back out?"

                "Yes."

                Sam rolled his eyes, but an amused smile played on his lips. Cas was cute in his passion, and it was always nice to see him do something that made him feel like he was helping, like he was making a real difference. Cas had made enough mistakes in his life, and he still beat himself up about them sometimes even though Sam and Dean tried to make sure he knew that they forgave him. “Okay,” Sam said. Cas didn’t look at him. “I'm gonna go let Dean know I'm back." Sam got up and stepped toward the door, but he stopped when Cas spoke.

                "Sam. Wait."

                Cas rolled over, but he stayed on the floor, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling, still avoiding looking at Sam. He sighed, fingers playing with the zipper on his hoodie. "I need to tell you something."

                That made Sam a little nervous. Frowning, Sam's forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows drew together. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "What's up?" he asked, watching Cas closely for any sort of hint as to what might be on his mind.

                Cas sighed, rolling his eyes up to stare at the corner where the ceiling met the wall. He paused, and that made Sam fidget in his seat. Cas reached one hand out and tapped on the bottom drawer of the dresser rather nervously. "I told Dean. About Jeremy." Cas still didn't look at Sam.

                Sam was a little taken aback for a moment, but then a wave of frustration crashed over him. "What? Cas, why?! I specifically asked you _not_ to tell him!" It wasn't that he thought Dean wouldn't be supportive (in fact, he _knew_ that Dean would be nothing _but_ supportive), he just…wasn't ready to bring this thing out in the open, even if this “thing” was just a fling. It was his first of any sort of new relationship—sexual, romantic, platonic, whatever—that Sam had had since Amelia, and this was still slightly shaky territory for him. He didn't want Dean to make a big deal about it, because that would just make him feel even weirder, and then he'd probably chicken out and never hook up with Jeremy again.

                Sighing again, sadder this time, Cas sat up and he finally looked at Sam. He looked genuinely sorry, with his mouth turned downward to a frown and a crinkle between his eyebrows, and Sam felt a pang in his chest as he began to forgive Cas immediately. Cas tried, Sam knew, and he was still finding his footing not only as a human, but also as Dean's boyfriend, and Sam imagined it was a little tough for Cas, being in his first real relationship after a few millennia living up in Heaven as an angel. "I know, Sam. I'm sorry," Cas told him, and Sam's heart panged again.

                "It's okay, Cas," Sam assured, giving Cas a soft smile. "Just…how much did you tell him?"

                Cas exhaled, a little relieved. He smiled back at Sam. "Only his name. That's it, I promise."

                Sam huffed a laugh, nodding to himself. "That's good. I mean, I think it would've been fine if he knew—if _I_ told him, I mean—I just, you know. Don't really want to get into that with him. At least not right now." Sam smiled sheepishly.

                Cas nodded in understanding. He could see how Dean's jokes and teases could be a little overwhelming in a situation like Sam's. He knew that if someone had spoken to Dean like that when he and Dean first got together that their relationship probably would not have lasted. Comments like that probably would’ve made Dean lose his confidence in Cas's feelings for him, even though Cas had been in love with Dean for longer than even Cas himself could understand, and Dean would’ve broken things off. Something like that was never an issue for Cas himself, but he knew that Dean was much more sensitive than he liked to let on.

                Besides, Sam deserved to have someone of his own, whether it was a dedicated romantic relationship or not. He carried a lot on his shoulders, and he needed a way to de-stress and relax, and Cas knew from personal experience that sex was a great way to do that.

                Breathing another laugh, Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Just…don't tell Dean anything else, okay? If I decide to talk to him about it, I will."

                "Of course, Sam," Cas nodded, smiling reassurance.

                Sam grinned back, returning to his relaxed state from before. He took a deep breath, pulling his hair back and tying it into a bun on the back of his head with the hair tie from around his wrist. "Thanks. I'm gonna go talk to Dean now." He stood up. "Make sure you give Lilyhammer lots of love if he decides to come out. He had a rough day today." Sam winked as he slipped out the door.

                Giggling happily, feeling lighter knowing that Sam knew that Cas told Dean and that he wasn’t upset with him, Cas flopped back down on the floor, turning onto his side to watch Lilyhammer. He was still crouched in the back corner, green eyes glaring angrily. "Oh, Lilyhammer," Cas sighed fondly, smiling sadly at the cat. "You'll have to go to the vet one more time, but then it will be over." He reached his hand out again, a little tenative, but he relaxed and rested his palm on the floor when Lilyhammer didn't strike him. "If you come out, I promise to give you lots of pets!" Cas encouraged. Lilyhammer didn't move.

                He didn't move for an hour and a half. Neither did Cas.

 

****

 

                It took Sam a minute to get Dean's attention. He was watching a video on YouTube with his headphones on, and he was laughing pretty hard, and even when Sam tapped on Dean's shoulder and Dean spooked and his hunter instincts kicked in, he was still laughing as he whipped his arm around and knocked Sam's hand away from him.

                "What are you watching?" Sam asked when Dean took his headphones off.

                Dean started chuckling all over again. "I don't know, man. Some compilation of some stupid stuff. It's funny as fuck, though." He looked back at the computer screen, cracking up as another clip played. Sam scoffed and sat down in the seat beside him.

                Sam watched Dean laugh while he finished the video. Dean seemed a lot happier after finally getting together with Cas. Even though he was currently laughing, it still seemed to be a happier kind of laugh than he’d had before; his smile was bigger, his eyes brighter, his laugh coming from deep in his stomach. He looked completely free and unrestrained, and although Sam didn't really understand the video Dean was watching, it made his heart swell to see his brother so calm and relaxed, especially after the shit they had been through over the past few years.

                When the video finished, Dean closed his laptop and looked around the room, an amused smile still settled on his lips. "Where's Cas?"

                Sam pictured where he left Cas, lying on his bed with Lilyhammer on his chest. He had been cooing to the cat as he stroked and scratched at him, whispering soft little praises that really didn't mean anything to anyone but Cas. After the previous day's episode when Sam brought Lilyhammer back from the vet, Cas had been fussing over Lilyhammer like crazy, cuddling him and kissing him and bringing him lunch meat as treats. He couldn't stop apologizing, telling Lilyhammer over and over again, "I'm sorry that you had to go the vet, Lilyhammer." "I'm sorry your trip was so awful yesterday, kitty." "Poor baby, I'm so sorry."

                "Uh, he's just watching stuff in my room," Sam lied (but it wasn't _entirely_ a lie; the television was on, Cas was just paying more attention to the cat than he was to the show).

                Dean sat up straighter and looked over his shoulder, down the quiet hall. "Hmm, maybe I should go join him…" he mumbled, mostly to himself, but loud enough for Sam to hear just to make him squirm.

                Which, naturally, it did. "Ew, no! Don't be gross, Dean. Seriously. Do not...do _sexy stuff_ with Cas in my bed.” Sam wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of Dean going into his room and finding Lilyhammer; he was just terrified that Dean would fuck Cas in his bedroom, because that was _totally_ something that Dean would do. “If you even _think_ about it, I will come into your room when you're sleeping and cut off your dick."

                Dean snorted, smirking at Sam. "Jeez! You really gonna do that to me, Sammy? I only _just_ got with Cas, man! You gotta at least give me more time! We haven’t even tried everything! We have _plans_ , Sam!"

                His face contorted in disgust, Sam reached a leg out and kicked Dean in the knee. “You’re _revolting_!" he yelled, pointedly moving his chair back a couple of feet.

                Looking smug, Dean just snickered. He crossed his arms triumphantly over his abdomen, staring at Sam. He looked as if he wanted to say something, and Sam waited for a minute, but when Dean didn't open his mouth, he moved on himself and said what he knew Dean had to be thinking.

                Sam sighed. "I know Cas told you about Jeremy."

                Dean's smug smirk smoothly slipped into a proud grin, and the corners of his eyes crinkled deeply. Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, get it out," he told Dean, settling back in his seat. The only reason Dean felt the need to tease Sam about this anyway was because he was Sam's big brother, and Sam could understand that. He knew that if Dean got it out of his system once then he'd hold back the rest of it much easier whenever they talked about it next—which, to be honest, Sam wanted to be _never,_ but Dean had a habit of prodding him for details about his sexual exploits.

                Dean howled and leaned out of his seat to slap a hand on Sam's knee. "I knew you had it in ya, Sammy! You just needed to loosen up a little and the tail would come crawling straight to you." Dean winked, but then he shook his head, his demeanor softening slightly. "You really have been wound so tight these past few years. Took you long enough to find someone to hook up with, but this guy oughta do you some good."

                Sam laughed in disbelief, so shocked he nearly choked on his tongue. He coughed a few times, then stared at Dean with wide, amused eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, "but exactly _how many years_ were you in love with Cas before you did anything about it?"

                Dean glared at Sam and grabbed a stray book off the table, hurling it at Sam's shoulder. Sam flinched. "Whatever, man! That's totally different."

                _Yeah_ , Sam thought. _You were **friends** first, and you actually **love** him_. But there were two little rosy spots covering the apples of Dean's cheeks, so Sam decided, despite Dean's own teasing, he wouldn't say anything. Truthfully, he was actually thrilled that Sam and Cas had gotten together. They were both so much happier, which made them a lot easier to deal with, and the absence of the sexual tension that filled the room whenever the two of them were together made Sam feel like he could actually _breathe_ again. He hadn’t felt that in years.

                "Whatever," Sam said instead, reaching a foot out to kick at Dean again, a little lighter this time. "I'm just saying, you don't have any room to talk."

                Dean rolled his eyes, but he let the subject drop. "Yeah, well. I'm just glad you have someone to…keep you _entertained_." He wiggled his eyebrows.

                Sam scowled again, but he didn't say anything. He appreciated his thing with Jeremy immensely, even if it was never going to lead anywhere.

                "So," Dean leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. "Tell me about this guy."

                Sam sighed and shrugged. "There's not much to tell," he admitted.

                It was true. Sam and Jeremy tried to keep things pretty _business casual_ in their arrangement, so they never really revealed any personal information about themselves. Jeremy knew that Sam had a brother and a best friend, who had finally gotten together after years of dancing around each other, and Sam knew that Jeremy had a guy in his sights that he was trying to convince to go on a date with him. Other than that, though, they were both pretty closed off about themselves.

                Dean raised his eyebrows, dipping his head in invitation for more information. "Well, is he hot, at least?"

                Sam scoffed. Jeremy wasn't exactly toned like he was, or like Cas, or even like Dean, who had gained a few happy pounds in the weeks following his and Cas's coming together, but he was strong and capable. Dean might not see Jeremy as a ten if they ever were to meet, but Sam still thought he was pretty sexy. "Yeah," he told Dean flatly.

                Dean nodded his approval. "He good in bed?"

                This is the part Sam was dreading. There were times when he didn't mind sharing details about his sexual partners with his brother, but ever since he began to hear them doing their own _activities_ every night, it just felt…weird. Things were starting to seem a bit more personal in that area, and Sam wasn't sure he wanted to travel any further.

                "He's good."

                Dean sensed Sam's discomfort. So, of course, he pushed. "Top or bottom?"

                Sam squinted at Dean, annoyed. He may not have wanted to talk about any of this, but that didn't mean he was just going to let Dean _win_. He pushed back. "I top."

                Dean tried to hold out—Sam could see him struggling. But after a few moments, he shook his head, pulling his feet off the table and dropping them onto the floor. "Okay, yeah, I don't wanna talk about this either." He stood up. "I'm gonna go start dinner."

                "Yeah. Hey." Sam stood up too, reaching out to put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Thanks for, you know, being cool about this." He had never really been particularly open about his exploits with men to Dean before, even though there had been quite a few and he knew Dean didn’t judge him at all. It was just that whenever he had tried to talk about it in the past, Dean had always bristled and become uncomfortable, which Sam (apparently correctly) assumed had to do with Dean’s discomfort about his own sexuality.

                But now, Dean just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Sam. Not like I have a dude sleeping in my bed every night." He pulled Sam into a hug, clapping him on the back.

                Sam laughed, squeezing Dean thankfully.

                Dean sneezed.

                "No, not you too!" He pulled away with a groan, sniffling and wiping his nose.

                "What are you talking about?" Sam asked. (He knew, though. Cas had told him.)

                "Ugh." Dean rubbed at his eyes. "I keep sneezing whenever I get really close to Cas. I'm allergic to _something_ on him, which is actually really fucking annoying, because it keeps interrupting our fun, but _apparently_ I’m allergic to _you_ too." Dean studied Sam through slightly swollen eyes. "You two must be using the same hippie soap or something."

                Sam chuckled lightly. "You've never been allergic to any kind of soap before," he told Dean, even though he really probably shouldn't. It was actually safe that Dean was thinking it was a soap allergy; as long as he didn't suspect anything else, Lilyhammer was in the clear.

                Dean grumbled and sneezed again. "I'm getting old, okay?!" he shouted, irritated. He turned and stomped to the kitchen, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

                Sam _really_ hoped he remembered to wash up before he started cooking.

 

****

 

                Lilyhammer got neutered, and he didn't come out from under the dresser for two days. Cas was bitter and grumpy about it, and every time Dean would try to cuddle close to cheer him up, he sneezed.

 

****

 

                As Lilyhammer grew even healthier, he started getting more enthusiastic with Sam and Cas. He would rub his face all over their faces, their necks, their chests, purring contentedly and dripping drops of happy drool all over them.

                As Lilyhammer got happier, so did Cas.

                As Cas sidled up close to Dean, Dean sneezed.

                Every time.

 

****

 

                Cas was getting a cup of coffee late one morning, and Dean stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around Cas's waist. He nuzzled Cas's neck and pressed a few kisses to his skin.

                He sneezed.

 

****  


                Sam and Cas talked about making flyers to put up around town. They talked about placing an ad in the newspaper. They talked about putting posts up online.

                They talked a lot, but they never actually did anything other than pet Lilyhammer.

 

****

 

                Dean was reading through a lore book, and Cas brought him a beer. He stopped to lean down and wrap his arms around Dean's chest, to give Dean a kiss on the cheek, and Dean hummed appreciatively.

                Then he sneezed.

 

****

 

                Dean noticed Sam and Cas hanging out alone together in Sam’s room more and more. He assumed Sam was showing Cas the wonders of sci-fi and fantasy and weird documentaries, and he teased them about their “geeknerddom”.

                Sam rolled his eyes, and Cas only laughed as he kissed Dean’s cheek. Then he followed Sam back to his room, where he curled up on the bed with Lilyhammer tucked against his side. Cas petted Lilyhammer and watched the television screen sometimes, but mostly he just watched Lilyhammer as he slept.

 

****

 

                Things finally came to a head when Dean and Cas were getting hot and heavy.

                Cas had been making eyes at Dean all day, and Dean decided to forego making a homemade meal in favor of dragging his boyfriend back to his bedroom and eating _him_ instead. But as soon as he laid himself over Cas on the bed, he sneezed.

                "Okay, what the hell, Cas?" Dean asked sharply, pushing himself back to sit on the mattress in front of Cas.

                Cas sat up. His cheeks were red, already redder than they had been just a moment ago, and Dean's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him.

                "You've been sneezing a lot lately," Cas said simply. Like Dean didn’t know.

                Dean snorted, then he coughed, then he sneezed. "Yeah, no shit." He cleared his throat, then coughed and sneezed again.

                Cas was silent. He watched Dean, forehead creased with concern, and he reached one hand out to rest it on Dean's knee. He rubbed comforting circles into Dean's jeans with his index and middle fingers while Dean worked to pull himself together.

                Dean swiped his hand under his nose and looked at Cas, his eyes swelling already. "What's going on?" he asked with a scratchy voice. Cas, looking innocent as ever, opened his mouth to reply, but Dean interrupted before he could speak. "I mean it, Cas. Tell me the truth." Cas knew damn well what was going on, and Dean wasn't going to let him skirt around the problem any longer. The whole point of them being _together_ -together was so they could talk to each other about things instead of hiding them, and as much as Dean hated talking about the stuff inside his head, he appreciated that he had someone who wanted to know all of his secrets, and that he knew would listen and understand.

                So it should be a two-way street. Instead of changing the subject every time Dean mentioned his newfound allergy, Dean wanted Cas to come clean and tell him exactly what was going on.

                Cas sighed, and his eyes saddened slightly. Dean almost felt bad about pushing Cas to tell him, but his constant sneezing was a major mood killer and it seriously infringed on their cuddle time. Now, Dean may have liked to keep his macho, manly facade up when mingling with the public, but if he was honest with himself (which, of course, he didn't like to be, but he was trying to make a habit of it for Cas's sake--Cas liked it when Dean could tell him what he wanted), he actually _really_ liked cuddling. He liked holding Cas, and he liked it when Cas held him, and he liked nuzzling against Cas's neck, and he liked it when Cas tucked his head under Dean's chin and rested his head on Dean's chest, and he liked it when they got tangled up in each other and melted into one another and the lines blurred between them and they couldn't quite remember where one ended and the other began.

                This allergy thing needed to end, because Dean couldn't sidle up to Cas without breaking into a fit.

                Frowning slightly, Cas grabbed Dean's hand and squeezed. His eyes were cast down, and Dean felt his heart thud nervously in his chest, but he tangled his fingers with Cas's and dipped his head to throw him a soft, encouraging smile. "Hey," he said quietly, and Cas looked up at him. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine. We just gotta deal with it. Together. Yeah?"

                Cas breathed a small sigh of relief, and he squeezed Dean's hand again. Then he suddenly brightened, and even though Dean's heart skipped a beat with the beauty of the smile that broke out on Cas's face, he grew even more nervous, this time for an entirely different reason. He could deal with Cas when he was scared, or sad, or whatever. It was easy to cheer Cas up and make him feel better. All Dean would have to do was kiss him, or hold his hand, or paint his nails, or rub his shoulders, any little thing to remind Cas that Dean loved him always, and that he was there for him, that he would always be there for him, and Cas would perk right up. But when Cas was excited? That was an entirely different story.

                See, Cas was excitable as a human, and Dean didn't always feel the same way about some of Cas's endeavors. He had come home before to find the bunker filled with vases of flowers (“They’re so beautiful, and they really help to brighten things up down here. It’s really dark inside the bunker,” and yeah, it was, but so what?), and although Dean thought they were pretty, the smell of them all jammed in a room together was so thick that Dean felt like he couldn't breathe. Dean had found rocks in his room that Cas had picked up from his walks outside ("Look at it, Dean! It's not perfect, but it's still so beautiful. Like you," and Cas would bat his eyelashes and kiss Dean on the cheek, and the whole thing was way too sappy, and Cas was mostly doing the song and dance just to get his way, because he knew Dean hated stuff like that, but Dean still blushed anyway and he let Cas keep the goddamn rock). Cas would go on morning runs with Sam sometimes, and when he came back, sweaty and breathing heavy, he'd plop his manky ass right in Dean's lap and spend twenty minutes talking about how pretty the sky was as it changed color, and what the clouds looked like as the sun moved in the sky, before he'd even _consider_ taking a shower (he'd usually grab Dean's hand and pull him along to the bathroom, though, so Dean wasn’t _really_ complaining). Dean had woken up to kitchen messes and half-cooked-but-still-burnt pancakes when Cas had told Dean to sleep in so he could make him breakfast (the food still tasted delicious though, just because Cas made it-- _for him_. Besides, Cas was getting a lot better at cooking now). Dean had come into his room to find sex toys in gift bags (which—okay, yeah, those were awesome) and lingerie laid out on the bed (also awesome, but Dean would never _ever_ admit that to anyone he knew).

                So…okay. Maybe Cas's surprises and his enthusiasm about the little things weren't actually half bad. At all. Maybe Dean _did_ actually end up liking (most of) them. But still. Cas getting excited over things Dean didn’t know about rattled his nerves, just in preparation for what _might_ come.

                "Come on," Cas said. He jumped up and bolted toward the door, nearly yanking Dean off the bed in his haste. He tugged on Dean's hand, even as Dean was stumbling after him.

                "I'm coming, I'm coming! Jeez, Cas, where's the fire?"

                Cas stopped in front of Sam's bedroom door. He turned to Dean and grinned up at him, and Dean sighed dramatically, even though his heart caught in his throat seeing Cas's sparkly gaze. "What is it?" he asked, fighting the urge to lean down and kiss Cas's pretty pink lips.

                Taking a deep breath, Cas opened Sam's door.

                Dean felt Cas's eyes watching his face, never straying even as he pushed the door open in dramatic a presentation. And Dean immediately could see why. He also saw why Cas had been hanging out in Sam's room so much, and why Sam and Cas had been making him sneeze so bad, and what was probably why Cas had been even happier than usual lately.

                Because Sam was lying down on the bed, not with a book on his chest, but a cat.

                Dean's mouth dropped open. Then he sneezed.

                "Dean, wait—“ Sam started to get up, but then the cat made a noise and lifted its head, and Sam settled back down and petted the thing until it relaxed again.

                Dean sneezed. His eyes itched, and his throat burned.

                Dean turned to Cas, poised to say, he didn't know what, but _something_ about how Cas could bring a cat into their home when he _knew_ Dean was allergic, when he _knew_ Dean didn't even _like_ cats, but he sneezed again, three times in rapid succession, and Cas took his chance and spoke first, rushing out a breathless jumble of words. Dean's sneezes kept interrupting Cas, but he didn't seem to care, and he continued on with his monologue as if nothing were happening at all.

                "Dean, I know you're allergic to cats, and I know you don't like them, and I'm sorry I've been—“ _sneeze_ , "—keeping him a secret from you, but I found him outside, and he was a stray, and oh, Dean—“ _sneeze_ , "—he was so _skinny_ and his fur was a mess, and I couldn't just _leave_ him there, so I—“ _sneeze_ , "—took him in to Sam, and we gave him some food and some water, and he—“ _two sneezes_ , "—was _so sweet_ , and we took him to the vet and got him neutered, and we're only keeping him until we find him a good home—“ _sneeze_ , "—and we keep meaning to put up flyers, but I guess we just keep forgetting because we haven't actually done that yet, but Dean, he's so nice and so—“ _sneeze sneeze cough_ , "—sweet and I think if you just got to know him a little bit then you'd really like him, and we—“ _cough sneeze **hack**_ , "—wouldn't have to hide him away in Sam's room anymore, just until—“ _sneeze_ , "—we found him a new home, of course." Cas stopped and took a deep breath, squeezing Dean's hand tightly. Dean, of course, sneezed. "His name is Lilyhammer, and he's an absolute doll, and I _adore_ him."

                _I **adore** him_ , Cas said.

                Of course Cas adored him. Cas loved all animals, big and small, everything from cute and fluffy to gross and nasty. Cas was even more of a hippie than Sam was, taking flies and spiders and ladybugs outside instead of just squashing them, taking the worms off the pavement and putting them back in the grass after it rained, finding injured wildlife and nursing it back to health before setting it free. Once there was a mouse in Dean's room, and it kept chewing on the clothes in his dresser and pooping everywhere, and Dean wanted to set up a trap, but as soon as Cas heard, he yelled and ran into Dean's room and tackled Dean where he was kneeling on the floor, already setting up the trap. The trap snapped shut on Dean's finger and it hurt like _hell_ , but Cas didn't even care. He just yanked it off and threw it across the room and pointed an angry finger at Dean's face and said in a low, threatening tone, "You are _not_ killing that mouse, Dean Winchester."

                After that, they rolled around in the sheets. Then Cas spent the next three days patiently watching and waiting for the mouse to make an appearance, and after it came out for the fifth time, Cas finally caught it and released it outside.

                Of course Cas adored the goddamn cat. He adored every animal on the whole damn planet.

                That was that, then.

                Dean sneezed one more time and side-eyed the cat on Sam's chest before he pulled his hand out of Cas's grip and turned down the hallway. "Dean, wait!" Cas called after him, grabbing Dean's arm with gentle but firm fingers. Dean pulled away, though, and Cas stopped, staring sadly at Dean's back as he walked away. Dean didn't look over his shoulder and he called back a gruff "I'm going out," and disappearing around the corner.

                Sam stepped up beside Cas, holding Lilyhammer in one arm.

                "Is he mad?" Cas asked with a small voice.

                Sam sighed. "I don't know, man. He didn't exactly say much."

                Cas groaned and covered his face with his hands, turning and collapsing against half of Sam's chest. After becoming human, Cas did seem to develop a flair for drama. Sam huffed a laugh and patted Cas's back. "It'll be alright, Cas. He'll get over it."

                Cas wondered if it would’ve been better if he’d found a dog.

 

****

                Dean was gone for about an hour.

                Sam and Cas were in the library with Lilyhammer, who was happily stretched out the table, purring softly even though no one was petting him. He seemed to be happy to be able to get out of Sam's room, and although Cas had read online that cats didn't like even the smallest of changes, Lilyhammer seemed to take it in stride. When Sam had put him down on the floor, Lilyhammer took a few minutes to explore the new surroundings, and then he sauntered right up to the table, jumped up, and blissfully conked out on the cool wood. He was so fast asleep that he didn't even seem to register when the front door slammed and the sound echoed through the bunker.

                Cas jumped out of his seat and rushed to meet Dean when he came through. "Hey, sweetheart, are you alright?" he asked Dean, his tone laced with concern. He didn't want Dean to be angry with him, and he knew that when Dean was upset with someone he cared about it had a tendency to affect every other aspect of his life and he became grumpy about everything.

                Dean made a gruff noise in the back his throat, and he glared at the cat on the table before he tossed a plastic bag onto Cas's abandoned chair. "Hey," Cas said again, stepping in front of Dean and grabbing the hem of his shirt between two fingers. "Dean? Sweetheart?"

                It took Dean a moment to draw his eyes away from the cat, but when he did, his face softened and he gave Cas the smallest of smiles. Placing a hand on Cas's shoulder, Dean kissed Cas on the cheek, then gave him a peck on the lips. "I'm fine, baby," he mumbled. Then he dipped his head down and nuzzled Cas's neck, just because he could. Cas laughed delightedly at the nip of teeth on his throat, but then Dean pulled away and headed for the kitchen, patting Sam on the shoulder as he passed him.

                Cas watched after him, unable to keep the smile off his face. He didn't snap out of his love-tinted haze until Sam cleared his throat.

                "Guess he's not mad, huh?" Sam said with a shrug, but he looked genuinely happy to see that Dean wasn't upset with them and that things were still okay.

                Cas grinned back at Sam even wider, and then he grabbed the bag on his chair. He gasped when he looked inside.

                "What is it?" Sam questioned curiously.

                Cas looked up and smirked at him, a twinkle in his eye. "Allergy medicine."

                Sam paused, but then he laughed and reached out to pet Lilyhammer, sharing the knowing smirk with Cas.

                Dean may have hated cats, but he loved Cas. And when you love someone, that means you make sacrifices for them.

                _They were keeping the cat._


End file.
